January 2, 2013 - The Broadway League has released its annual report, The Demographics of the Broadway Audience 2011-2012, and found that the past season was Broadway’s strongest 52-week season in history with 12.3 million admissions.

The analysis is based on extensive survey data gleaned from audience questionnaires distributed throughout the 2011-2012 Broadway season in New York City. It includes highlights on the demographics of the audience and their ticket purchasing habits.

“This was our strongest 52-week season in history in terms of attendance and grosses with over 12.3 million admissions,” commented Charlotte St. Martin, Executive Director of The Broadway League.

“We are pleased to see growth in international market, as New York City continues to show strong tourism numbers,” said Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of The Broadway League. “The 2011 – 2012 season saw an increase in the diversity of our audience. Word of mouth continues to be the greatest influence for show selection, with a notable uptick in the power of social networking posts.”

Among the numbers gleaned from Demographics of the Broadway Audience:

67: percent of the audience that’s female
63: percent of all Broadway tickets bought by tourists
47: percent of tickets purchased online
43.5: average age of the Broadway theatregoer
30: percent of theatregoers who watched the Tonys on TV
19: percent of theatregoers who took the subway to get to their show
18: percent of Broadway tickets bought by international tourists
17: percent of ticket buyers from New York City
1 million: admissions by teens and children in the 2011-2012 season

Playgoers also tended to be more frequent theatregoers than musical attendees. The typical playgoer saw six shows in the past year, compared with four for the musical attendee. Those who saw fifteen or more shows comprised 5% of the audience, but represented 29% of all admissions. Word of mouth continues to be the greatest influence of show selection with a notable increase in the power of social networking posts.

While the Broadway audience is still primarily Caucasian, the 2011-2012 season saw a growth in diversity of its audience, as admissions by theatregoers of other ethnic backgrounds by 850,000 from 1.89 million in the 2010-2011 season to 2.74 million in the 2011-2012 season.

The Demographics of the Broadway Audience is published annually by The Broadway League, the clearinghouse for information on the business, demographics and economic impact of Broadway theatre throughout North America. To learn more, visit BroadwayLeague.com.